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Monday, December 7, 2015

Poems of the Week ~ by Grace, Myrna Rosa and Debi Swim

It is our pleasure this week to bring you three beautiful poems, penned by Mary Grace Guevara of Everyday Amazing, Myrna Rosa, of Daily Spirit, and Debi Swim, of George Place Poetry. Each poem reflects the poet's unique perspective, and an explanation of how the poems came to them. I do hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

~0~0~Sherry: How absolutely beautiful! "Tonight she hears their music for the gods." I can see her! I love Africa, so this poem really speaks to me. How did it come to you, Grace?Grace: I like getting inspiration from pictures, and one of my favorite blogs is Colossal. I came upon this post : Diamond Nights: Africa's Oldest Trees Photographed Against Starry Night Skies by Beth Moon, and I was blown away by the idea of watching those old trees on moonless nights in remote areas of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. I have not been to Africa, but I wanted to capture the experience of seeing those aged trees at night. There's a lot of character in those old trees, and, like old people, they are filled with wisdom. I try to imagine what they will tell me, if they have voices, and that gave me the idea to play "gifts" and "teacher". Sherry: I was transported to the night skies of Africa by both photo and poem. How amazing it must be to look up at the heavens there.Now let's take a look at Myrna's wonderful poem of inner fire.

The Raging Grannies of Amherst, MA

amherstma.gov

The Fire WithinI remember times when we sat around the fire of our angerespousing fumes of rebellion.The mood so high, singing scorching songs,outcries of liberation, validation,our cumbaya moments of passionate causeswhen the eve of destruction gave riseto our individuation from the System,the Man, or anyone over 30because we were childrenof flowers.

Today, we don't sit around so much anymorefanning a wild fire demanding reform.Life has changed us, the way all good teachers do.

But our youthful fire has not been extinguished.It rages differently,hotter than beforewhen we knew less about real love,true freedom, the value of our world.We, blooming flowers,will continue to fuel that flame,until it burns us all.

Sherry: I adore "Life has changed us, the way all good teachers do." And I especially love that our fire "has not been extinguished. It burns differently now." So true of our generation of flower children, who still hold those shining ideals of a world of social justice. Tell us about this poem, Myrna.Myrna: Recently, I heard a woman recite a poem about the early
60's. She cited "The Howl", by
Allen Ginsberg and her poem contrasted the days of protests and demonstrations
with her perceived lack of conviction nowadays, the need for a
"movement".

I started thinking about my generation and wondering if
all our youthful ideals were really abandoned.
My conclusion was that we have just grown, developed different
perspectives and strategies to confront injustice and all the other ailments of
this world. I'm convinced that most of
us have retained our fire, our passion and principles about contributing
towards a better society. At least, I
hope so.

These were the thoughts that gave rise to this poem,
which, unlike most of my other poems, was written quickly with little
struggle. I love when that happens, but
it is rare for me. I'm glad it did, and
mostly I'm glad you liked it. Thank you
so much for selecting it Sherry.

Sherry: We thank you, my friend, for writing it so eloquently. Now we'll take a look at Debi's interesting response to the famous painting by Van Gogh.

Debi: I’ve admired
the beauty of "The Starry Night" many times, and have written about it, but
as I looked this time, I thought, this scene is LOUD. A cacophony of
sounds, like each member of an orchestra tuning up individually before the
start of the concert, and I imagined Van Gogh with his hands over his ears
looking into the sky.Sherry: Oh, that is a cool idea. I can see him, hands over his ears, and his horrified expression. An unexpected take on the famous painting. I love it!Well, my friends? I hope you have enjoyed these wonderful offerings. Thank you for coming by so faithfully to support and appreciate our fellow poets. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? (At this point, I have NO idea, LOL) It might be you!

22 comments:

Sherry, you totally blow my mind! How you must plot these small collections, plot and savior and save. It's my favorite feature. I've always enjoyed the way Grace sees the world and portrays it in her poems. This one is slightly different than usual. It still builds its three part wisdom but without the sensuality of the human body. Instead, Grace I love how it establishes right relationship between species. I identify completely with Myrna's poem being a flower child anti-war activist myself. You know it, Myrna. You speak my mind. And Debi's poem broke the silence of Van Gogh's starry night. Debi, you had me yelling out "Yes," covering my ears and falling right into Munch's "The Scream"! Wonderful!

Grace astounds me with her sensuous writing. Trees can definitely stimulate our senses and I fell this one deeply. Debi's poem is remarkable in its interpretation of this raucous starry night. I am so happy and honored that you place me with such impressive and talented poets. Thank you Sherry.

Three beautiful poets and poems - a wonderful illustration of the gifts the world can bring...nature...the earth...teachers and inspirational friends and people..maybe even a troubled mind capable of creating beauty when there is torment and loudness inside...a wonderful set of interviews which fit together perfectly

Yes, Susan, I admit I do enjoy preparing these poetic treats. Poems of the Week, with their creators' explanation of how the poems were born is one of my fave features, too. And we have such a wealth of talent to draw from. Thank you, Grace, Myrna and Debi for reaching out of the screen and grabbing me with each of these wonderful poems.

Oh yes, wonderful poems all, from three wonderful poets whose work I very much enjoy and admire. Loving them all, I too relate particularly to Myrna's sentiments, being an activist/idealist of that era myself. (And oh, I so love the pic and slogan of The Raging Grannies!)

What a night treat reading these poems today in the pause I'm(and my muse) taking... beautiful dialog in Grace's poem, 'fire within' by Myrna and great Debi's take on famous painting! Many thanks to all!

Wonderful selections Sherry!...could feel that fire of life in each poem…I was really transported to that vibrant continent Grace among the diamond lit sky and the ancient souls of the Baobab, love the photo too….A beautiful poem Myrna…wish our inner fire glows in love…“because we were children / of flowers.”..love the lines…This is a grand response to Van Gogh’s The Starry Night Debi…you’ve beautifully worded the artist’s passion and ‘lust for life’ expressed in the art work…

Thank you, Sherry for sharing our work. Grace that picture is wonderful and so are your words. Myrna, I've wondered where that passion has gone but your poem shows me a more mature understanding. Thank you so much for expressing what I couldn't.

Debi a delightful take on a favorite painting of mine too...'and I, I fall to my knees in your poignant orbital spin'...I also always felt it loud.....but there are those times I can also look at it and see the bright light and it calms me...a fabulous poem!

Great to be here, knowing more of very familiar names, Grace, Myrna and Debi. They are brilliant in their poems.Looking forward to continually connecting with all the wonderful ladies for the ensuing year ahead. Thanks to you too Sherry!

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